Reflection is good. It's nice to look back on was has been and, remember the great achievements of times gone past. I'd like to think that's why Game of the Year awards are so popular, not just so we can screech at each other about supposedly wrong opinions - something that's sadly all to common in the world of video games. We've admittedly left our Top Ten Games of 2013 list a little later than most but, we did so that we might better experience all of last years big titles, in the hopes we don't leave any great experiences unrepresented. 2013 was a fantastic year that saw some truly staggering games hit as the last generation systems gave way to the next. A natural conclusion The Last of Us is our top game of 2013.

The Last of Us - Playstation 3

Thinking back over the last year there were so many great games released, picking out just the ten greatest has been genuinely difficult. Yet selecting the top spot was done with ease, it was impossible to choose any title for the highest honour other than The Last of Us. With the incredible success that Naughty Dog captures the emotional highs and lows of Joel and Ellie's post apocalyptic journey, it would feel wrong to pick any other game. The tenacious duo's grim story follows them over a year of their lives through a touching, tragic and often horrific trek across the shattered remains of a US ravaged by a viscous fungal infection which effectively zombifies it's human hosts. Amongst the back drop, a world inhabited by monsters and humans that kill indiscriminately, Naughty Dog tells what may be the best story ever in video games; I'm deadly serious.

Naughty Dog expertly builds a believable devastated world, brimming with little touches that instil it with a sense of lost humanity - unique crayon pictures scribbled by children rest on individual work desks and, family portraits sit on mantles - the world feels truly abandoned. Scattered throughout are notes; diary entries written both before and after the pandemic, those penned before show the triviality of life in comparison to the tragic present. Fourteen year old heroine Ellie remarks that she can't imagine a time where girls worry about what to wear and, if a boy likes them. Those scribed during the pandemic tell engrossing stories in their own right regarding the trials the survivors have went through - some are truly touching.

Even with their own unique charms none of scrawled notes carry the same emotional weight as the story of the protagonist tag team. I'd barely switched the game on before I was given the first emotional kick in the gut - from that moment on The Last of Us's emotional hooks were in and, they wouldn't let go right up until it's unbelievable finale. The relationship between Joel and Ellie is fascinating, and ultimately believable as fate throws them together.Younger Ellie constantly attempts to win over the cold middle aged Joel who is initially uninterested in the teenager, escorting her across country out of necessity rather than want. Quickly their relationship evolves into almost a father daughter one, as Joel teaches the naive Ellie about the world before its collapse. Talented voice actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson bring life and energy to the pair.

Unlike it's action packet colourful sibling the Uncharted series The Last of Us is grey, downtrodden and, flits between action-adventure to survival horror in a blink. This is thanks to the two distinct groups players are pitted against, the intelligent team working human survivors and, the creepy zombie-like infected. Humans are fought like a regular action game, their team work helps them encircle Joel and, they're best dealt tactically - though using melee is advantageous as to conserve ammunition. In this world though even melee weapons degrade, nothing is really safe. Infected on the other hand are far more sinister. The lighter runners throw themselves violently against Joel, whilst the spooky clickers are blinded by there infliction navigating using mere sound alone. Sneaking and, careful dispatchment in the dark corners they're encountered in is necessary - they're powerful, capable of killing Joel in one terrifying gory strike.

Naughty Dog's post-apocalyptic survivor/action game controls like a dream. It's simple crafting system keeps players on their toes and, multiplayer matches the tone of the single player experience masterfully. It's enemies are spooky, yet humans are dangerous reminding us who the real monsters are. But none of that matters. At it's core The Last of Us has heart - something few games do. It makes you care about characters in a way that very few stories can, it pulls the heart strings in its best moments and, truly is one of the best video game tales ever crafted. If you could only play one game last year, this should have been it.

On the day of our hands on demo's we were surprised by the bloody Roman epic Ryse, witnessed the immense popularity of Xbox One's flagship racer Forza and saw the tragic lack of anticipation for the newly resurrected Killer Instinct. So then what struck us about the latest and third entry in the crazy zombie slaying Dead Rising franchise? Well quite simply we've left the best hands on demo for last - Dead Rising 3 has the honour of being the game that impressed us the most. Forza 5 is undoubtedly going to be a marvellous instalment in the long running beloved racing franchise, but out of all four games it was Dead Rising that felt the most next gen - the sheer number of shuffling undead on screen at any one time is testament to that.

Incidentally it was standing directly in front of a rampaging horde of the shambling creatures in a claustrophobic main street that the five minute demo started - initially armed with nothing more than a sledgehammer we were left to fend for ourselves. As the curtain raised and the zombies were revealed in a moment of sheer panic I hurtled towards the colossal crowd and began slamming the powerful sledge into my foes before realising the futility of my actions. After a moments thought and another second of hesitation I decided to turn around, heading back to where our gory engagement began. It was then a flashy neon sign in the distance caught my eye, fleeing toward it I quickly found myself in a flash car showroom; then I saw if a beautiful Lamborghini tensely parked in front of the second story window.

Oh My God They're Clinging On!

Jumping into the fancy motor I sharply slammed the acceleration smashing through the window before clumsily falling one story and landing on the crowded street below. Imbued with a sense of power I floored it, flying the car directly into the once threatening crowd of ghouls I laughed to myself happy that victory was achieved; then the car began to slow. The ravenous fiends were actually clinging to the side of the vehicle desperately clawing their way in. With the car grinding to halt and zombies flying from impact and my intentional frenzied waggling to loosen their grip I scarcely emerged from the crowd before ditching the car that served me reasonably well in favour of the surely much safer in-doors.

For the rest of my demo I meandered around the shops trying out different blunt weapons to take out stragglers: crowbars, mannequins and handbags - the natural zombie killing equipment. At one point I even fended off a foe by throwing gemstones at him whilst his buddies flailed viciously at the stores window - then it hit me. For all the Dead Rising 3 presents it's situation as much more perilous than it's predecessor it quickly become clear that like previous entries landing in hot water won't necessarily be the death of you. No one I witnessed playing even came close to death even when things were at their most dire - even the fellow who accidentally threw and lodged his sledgehammer in the first zombie who maliciously shuffled close to him was okay.

It's this persistent sense of invulnerability and power than encourages players to explore their surrounding without fear of the masses of walking corpses and, goads them into playing with finding new creative ways to handle the rotting walkers. That liberating feeling of creativity and freedom is exact reason that everyone who played Dead Rising 3 came away a with different story they were desperate to share. Whilst my time was spent driving through the crowds the person who attended the event with me joyfully recounted a tale of explosives that burned off all of their characters clothing except their boxers before fighting off a zombie with a cars hub-cap - much the attendants apparent bemusement.

Look At Them!

These anecdotes of silly adventures are what makes Dead Rising 3 really stand out, yes the graphics look pretty, it's simply breath taking how many zombies can be on-screen at any time with no lag and the visceral bloody deaths that can be inflicted on the living dead makes combating them feel really rewarding. It also controls well, no controller quibbles were even raised. Yet these aren't the reasons to get excited for Dead Rising rather the enthralling deep exploration and experimentation are the eye catchers. Custom made ludicrous weapons make their return and, we've been told timers have completely been removed meaning you can really enjoy playing in the sandbox for as long as you choose. Both features enrich that already brilliant feeling of freedom.

Dead Rising 3 is the stand out game of the Xbox One launch and, by extension maybe the most valuable gem across the whole next gen launch. It's the essence of a sandbox, it provides a shuffling playground of zombies to hunt whilst providing an atmosphere of invulnerability - it's creative direction makes it feel like only your imagination is the only limit on ways to kill the abominations. Like all the greatest worlds it allows players to generate their own whimsical stories to tell their friends. Dead Rising 3 may not be an experimental game, or something completely new but, it takes the concept of it's admittedly flawed current gen entries and generously imbues it with spectacular next gen traits making it the Xbox One launch game we're most anticipated for.

If you missed any of our hands on impressions with the Xbox One hardware or games you can find them on the links below.

Naughty Dog is a developer that exudes greatness, growing from humble roots in to to creators of outstanding brilliance. Their PlayStation journey began back in the early days of the PS1, where they were responsible for the charming platform classic Crash Bandicoot. When the next generation rolled around they switched gears creating the varied and the successful Jak and Daxter series on PS2. Their PS3 days once again started something new resulting in the Uncharted series whose second and third instalments where met with monumental critical success, now they're considered modern classics. So here we stand on the cusp of another potential classic from a company that consistently build wonders, this time in the form of survival horror action game: The Last Of Us. Question is could they pull it off again? Oh boy could they.

The Last Of US is Naughty Dog's go at creating a survival horror experience and the success they've had in crafting a deeply atmospheric bleak world is unprecedented. The Last Of Us is easily one of the best titles of the genre ever created creating one of the most tense atmospheres in gaming. Not only that it easily sits along side and arguably above PS3's best exclusives; effortlessly standing out as one of the top experiences available this generation. There's no doubt in my mind in years to come it will be remembered as a classic along side some of the other most important titles in the medium's history.

Set in 20 years in the future The Last Of Us takes place on an Earth whose human population has been ravaged by the outbreak of a fungus - the cordyceps - that infects humans, high-jacks their brains turning them into shuffling distributors of the ailment that has befallen them - aptly named the infected. There's nothing in the game that directly states how fast the world fell to pieces or exactly how the outbreak started, but hidden artefacts set the scene which unravels the mythos revealing information like estimated death/infection tolls. Only a few pockets of government remain in the United States - the quarantine zones, but even here hope is in short supply - along with everything else. What remains of governmental regime's have become more oppressive and the lights of civilisation grow ever dimmer. Those who survive outside the QZ's are mostly self serving opportunists, humans who've fell back on their pack mentality and, without morals it's everyman for themself.

In this scarred, broken and sad world players are cast as a man who it's a mirror image - Joel. Joel is a survivor living inside the Boston QZ as a smuggler, he's a broken man whose only purpose in life is to survive, having given up on everything else. During the twenty years since the outbreak Joel has continued to live where so many died or succumbed to the infection, and it's a sorry existence. Explicit details of what he's done to carry on are never given but little hints are provided. His world is turned upside-down when he's partnered with a spunky teenager - Ellie. Ellie is a fourteen year old girl, she's no concept of life before infection, the drab sadistic world is all she's ever known, her naivety of the crumbled civilization is not something Joel shares. Starkly contrasting from the misery around her Ellie is a cheerful companion who'll often poke fun at her elder for being so down the in the dumps and she can be regularly heard mimicking guitar riffs to herself. The duo soon find themselves becoming reliant on one another during their year long trek across the USA.

Get It Off!

Joel and Ellie's relationship is the cornerstone of the whole experience, it's so deep, engaging and captivatingly heart warming to watch as they build their relationship from cold companions to close friends in world characterised by destruction. Ellie in particular is the reason the dynamic works so well. She's an undeniably likeable companion whose foul verbal exclamations, naivety of the world before the infection and good humour should never fail to raise a smile. Throughout their adventure the duo meet a host of great supporting characters who all perfectly fit into their roles, all add layers of believability to the story - they're no tacked on forgettable faces to be seen here.

Despite being narratively inspired by traditional post apocalyptic zombie stories The Last Of Us tale is masterfully weaved in such a way that genre cliché's are rarely adhered to offering up more dizzying surprises than mundane "I saw that coming" moments. The game provides a constant barrage of intense dramatic moments all orchestrated to such perfection that they land like sucker punches to the gut overwhelming with emotional beats.

All of the dark, lonely and scary atmosphere that is present in the story and world is reflected within the gameplay experience, it's this well constructed blend that causes The Last Of Us to really shines. As expected scavenging is important to prolonged survival in the post-apocalyptic setting, as such players will often find themselves rooting through old buildings and often peoples homes for integral supplies. Whilst digging through peoples personal effects Joel will often find notes or letters that demonstrate individuals more personal connection with the outbreak. The tid bits regularly don't add to the main plot arc but their addition immeasurably adds to the believability of the world. Drawings from children are pinned to work offices; belongings are scattered through houses all of this makes the cities feel so much more like a living world turned stone dead.

In a time where basic necessities are in short supplies scavenging also serves a more practical purpose - crafting. Materials for crafting are carefully scattered in small supply. Used to make everything from health kits to Molotov cocktails resources are scarce and since individual components uses often overlap players must decide what is more important to them at any given time, as they never know when they may encounter more of the item. On top of that rare stashes of medication can be found that's used upgrade Joel's skills, there isn't enough to max out Joel out in one play through so the decision must be made wisely. Further to that there's salvageable materials that can be used to upgrade the in game arsenal of handguns and other firearms, again there's not enough to max out on play through to make players consider their priorities. Resource scarcity means there's never quite enough to be comfortable which adds spades of tension to the already dire atmosphere

Oh Dear...

Survival is a strenuous sobering task,especially when yours and another's come into direct conflict - in this reality combat is aggressive and incredibly suspenseful, it really gets the adrenaline going. Killing someone is a significant act, not one to be taken lightly and The Last Of Us reflects that incredibly well. Unlike most games where foes feel like moving targets to be shot down enemies feel weighted; heavy. As Joel choke's a human the life drains from their eyes as they fruitlessly struggle against their impending demise; gun shots graphically splatter through a body before it turns limp thudding against the floor.

The wasteland of America harbours two main adversaries, the infected that instinctively attack humans to spread their ailment and humans, who selfishly attack other survivors to increase their own chances. Which is more dangerous is very much a quandary the game presents to the player both narratively and in gameplay, what's more the two type of AI react radically differently meaning tactics must changed depending on the engagement. The infected are predictable swarmers that over power the player in numbers, traps and stealth work well against them - particularly the terrifying clicker variant whose sight has been compromised leaving it to depend on sound alone. Humans on the other hand are violent and clever. They'll try to flank the player sneaking around actively trying to form a powerful strategic advantages, not only that unlike the infected they're armed with fire-power.

The way that every encounter is handled is left entirely to the player though usually a combination of strategy's will be used. Stealth is perhaps the most viable option, it allows for numbers to be thinned out and preserves precious resources, bullets are rare and missing shots in key moments can mean the difference between life and death. If you feel sufficiently armed though guns-a-blazing is viable. Some encounters can even be snuck round entirely for those pacifists amongst you. A combination of all three used to their full effect is normally the answer. The controls themselves are impressively tight landing a head shot relies on skill with a heavy dose of sway thrown in for suspense, systems rarely get in the way and sneaking is well implemented and never unfair.

They're a few issues of course earlier in the game friendly NPC's seem to have a habit of getting in the way, allies also cannot be detected by enemies leading some unusual situations where Ellie will run in front of a guard and they simply ignore her. It does break the immersion somewhat but if it's either that or have poor NPC's break a stealth streak it seems like the right choice, before long it becomes unnoticeable. Such minor irritants are few and far between none of which take any substantial level of enjoyment from the experience.

In addition to an absolutely stellar single player campaign The Last Of US features a fully fledged online multiplayer mode. Such modes inherently raise worries that a games singe player experience will be compromised, rest assured that this certainly not the case in The Last Of Us. Whilst the online portion could be ignored fully and nothing would be lost it's a strong addition to the package that successfully translates the world, tension and combat strategies onto multiplayer stage. The two online modes allow for players to combat each other in teams of four allying with either the fireflies or hunters - there's no infected to be found here. Combat remains savagely brutal and tactical with an enjoyable depth not often found in a "tacked on" multiplayer experience instead it feels like a fresh expansion of already well established ideas.

The Last Of Us is a master-class in game design. In years to come gamers will recognise it as a high point in the industry to be likened to the ranks of Metal Gear Solid, Ocarina Of Time, Bioshock; it's one of those experiences that shows the power of the medium. It's ravaged beauty will draw you in, the pains and journey of it's marvellous protagonists will keep you immersed. The savage shoot-out's, brutal fistfights and ingenious encounters will keep players immersed start to finish. When all is said and done you'll only want more, even it's few small problems never build to a point where they're a real problem. All in all The Last Of Us another classic, like everything Naughty Dog does, with this they cement themselves as one of, if not the best game developers in the industry. The Last Of Us is a classic and the perfect swan song for a generation, don't miss it.